Resilient Houston
HR&A collaborated with 100 Resilient Cities and Houston’s Chief Resilience Officer to develop the city’s comprehensive Resilience Strategy, addressing critical challenges including stormwater management, urban heat mitigation, and equitable economic development. Working alongside the Water Institute of the Gulf, Asakura Robinson, the Kinder Institute for Urban Research, and the Rockefeller Foundation, we contributed to a strategy that earned the Gold Planning Achievement Award for Resilience from the Texas Chapter of the American Planning Association.
Houston needed coordinated responses to complex resilience challenges spanning multiple sectors and communities. HR&A conducted agenda-setting workshops with senior City officials and community stakeholders to identify resilience needs and priorities, then provided ongoing research support for a comprehensive Resilience Assessment. Through multiple full-day workshops, we facilitated engagement between the Chief Resilience Officer, key City staff, and subject-matter experts to develop potential financing and implementation strategies for high-priority initiatives targeting the city’s most pressing vulnerabilities.
The collaborative process resulted in a robust Resilience Strategy released in February 2020 that provides actionable frameworks for addressing stormwater management, urban heat mitigation, and equitable economic development. HR&A supported the Chief Resilience Officer in drafting the final strategy, which established clear pathways for building Houston’s capacity to withstand and recover from various shocks and stresses while providing practical implementation guidance for city leadership and community stakeholders.
- Houston Brings Resilience From Plan to Action — Texas Architect
- City unveils ‘Resilient Houston,’ its plan to make the city stronger at every level — Rice University
- City launches ‘Resilient Houston’ plan to prepare for future disasters — Houston Chronicle
